The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry • Hacker News Board

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#41

Post by nothercastle » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 2:14 PM UTC

meindnoch wrote: post #35

nothercastle wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to decrease the value of your land plant trees so some nimby can come in designated it as protected habitat and then prevent you from maintaining or cutting any of them down. Tree law is almost as bad as HOA laws. Even if it’s not designed once a tree gets too big you loose any right to manage or maintain it

"Oh no, my trees have been attacked by an unknown disease and they're all dead now! I guess we'll have to cut them down :'(" A well placed hole with a 1/2 inch drill bit, and 100% glyphosate does wonders to a tree. Make sure the hole is slanted downwards, so the glyphosate stays inside to be transported by the cambium.

If you get caught they will make you replace them and or pay a 10-50k fine.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#42

Post by lordswork » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 2:34 PM UTC

For those wondering, the Miyawaki method differs from normal planting by doing the following:

- heavily pre-treat soil with organic matter (simulating forest floor)

- plant a mix of native plants that will make up canopy, tree, sub-tree, and shrub layers

- densely planting plants (3-5 saplings / m^2)

- heavy mulching after planting (weed suppression, moisture control, nutrients)

This encourages rapid growth into a biodiverse dense forest much faster than standard planting techniques.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#43

Post by humblebeekeeper » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 2:58 PM UTC

meindnoch wrote: post #35

nothercastle wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to decrease the value of your land plant trees so some nimby can come in designated it as protected habitat and then prevent you from maintaining or cutting any of them down. Tree law is almost as bad as HOA laws. Even if it’s not designed once a tree gets too big you loose any right to manage or maintain it

"Oh no, my trees have been attacked by an unknown disease and they're all dead now! I guess we'll have to cut them down :'(" A well placed hole with a 1/2 inch drill bit, and 100% glyphosate does wonders to a tree. Make sure the hole is slanted downwards, so the glyphosate stays inside to be transported by the cambium.

Sociopathic post, tbh.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#44

Post by evantish » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 3:25 PM UTC

thimkerbell wrote: post #17

Podcast. There is a transcript, which is in fine print and not concise.

> which is in fine print and not concise.

Not to excuse poor web design practices, but this is what CTRL+ or ⌘+ is for in most modern browsers.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#45

Post by spauldo » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 3:40 PM UTC

tokai wrote: post #8

PaulHoule wrote: post #6

Works well in some ecosystems when people choose the right plant material. With the wrong ecosystem and the wrong plant material it's one of those ideas from the temperate core that fails in the tropical periphery.

I don't know what counts as temperate core for you, but Japan is famous for its diverse climate zones.

I think it's less that Japan is famous for its climate zones and more that it's a safe, comfortable topic of conversation that Japanese people use - the whole "Did you know Japan has four seasons?" question that every foreigner hears. It's generally considered polite to respond with surprised interest rather than "yeah, so does most of the temperate part of the world."

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#46

Post by morkalork » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 3:43 PM UTC

lordswork wrote: post #42

For those wondering, the Miyawaki method differs from normal planting by doing the following: - heavily pre-treat soil with organic matter (simulating forest floor) - plant a mix of native plants that will make up canopy, tree, sub-tree, and shrub layers - densely planting plants (3-5 saplings / m^2) - heavy mulching after planting (weed suppression, moisture control, nutrients) This encourages rapid growth into a bi…

Interesting, there's some re-greening projects in Canada that do something similar with planting a shrub/forest floor layer. Apparently the trick for doing it at scale is to cut up and transplant sections from the space beside highways that would be cleared anyways.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#47

Post by PaulHoule » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 3:45 PM UTC

toast0 wrote: post #29

soperj wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, you have major tree planting happening every summer in Canada, and it's all around trying to mono-culture the entire country for the sake of timber companies. They immediately spray Glyphosate on areas burnt by forest fires, so that low value fire break species like Alder don't establish themselves in the area and then they can send in tree planters to plant higher value pine, which is a serotinous species, i…

Forest planting for commercial forestry is not the same as forest planting for urban improvement. The goals and means are different. Climate change and forestry practices can both take blame for the fire cycles. Commercial foresters have been following these practices for generations and it only started becoming a major issue as climate conditions changed... Practices must adapt, but nobody likes change.

Note people in Japan are doing some things that seem radical, for instance replacing urban trees that produce allergy inducing pollen.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#48

Post by toast0 » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:09 PM UTC

M95D wrote: post #33

slwvx wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the Miyawaki Method would work just as well to start a large forest. Here's a possible path * Secure the large area of land * If your budget is limited, plant a few small areas in the Miyawaki Method to get healthy ecosystems started * In future years, as you get more money, plant more areas, or just wait for the forest to spread from the Miyawaki areas.

Most of us have a problem with the first step.

If you can't do the first step, large scale foresting efforts are out of your reach, regardless of technique.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#49

Post by meindnoch » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:28 PM UTC

humblebeekeeper wrote: post #43

meindnoch wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Oh no, my trees have been attacked by an unknown disease and they're all dead now! I guess we'll have to cut them down :'(" A well placed hole with a 1/2 inch drill bit, and 100% glyphosate does wonders to a tree. Make sure the hole is slanted downwards, so the glyphosate stays inside to be transported by the cambium.

Sociopathic post, tbh.

Killing a tree in my own land is "sociopathic"? That's a pretty loose interpretation of the word.

Re: The Miyawaki Method of micro-forestry

#50

Post by meindnoch » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:36 PM UTC

nothercastle wrote: post #41

meindnoch wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Oh no, my trees have been attacked by an unknown disease and they're all dead now! I guess we'll have to cut them down :'(" A well placed hole with a 1/2 inch drill bit, and 100% glyphosate does wonders to a tree. Make sure the hole is slanted downwards, so the glyphosate stays inside to be transported by the cambium.

If you get caught they will make you replace them and or pay a 10-50k fine.

Zero chance if you do it right.

Another option if you don't want to leave marks on the tree is to pour Tordon (picloram) at the base of the tree.